After originally planning to reopen at a pace of one show per month starting this month, Cirque du Soleil has accelerated its schedule. Both Mystere at Treasure Island and O at Bellagio have already returned to their stages. Michael Jackson ONE will resume at Mandalay Bay on August 19, while LOVE is also scheduled to return to the Mirage sometime this month. KA at MGM Grand is expected to be the last to reopen sometime in October. The only Cirque show that won’t return is Zumanity, which played at New York-New York.
Eater Las Vegas reports that Japanese chef Tetsuya Wakuda, famous for his Michelin two-star restaurant at Marina Bay Sands and a popular 32-year-old restaurant in Sydney, will open an eponymously named eatery sometime next year at Palazzo in the space that was formerly Morels French Steakhouse and Bistro, which never reopened after the shutdown. Wakuda will "combine old Japanese traditions with edgy, upbeat sophistication, using nooks and crannies for seating areas" to replicate the narrow alleys of the Golden Gai district in Tokyo's Shinjuku entertainment and hospitality area.
Typically, August temperatures start out hot and begin a slow transition to cooler. Normal highs for the first week are 104, then fall to double-digits (99 degrees) on the last day of the month. Normal lows start at 81 and drop to 77. Record high temperatures, however, have risen all the way to 116 three times (twice in 1970 and once in 1940), with 115 three times and 114 another four. The record low hit 54 (1937) and have gone as high as 66 (1940). Last year, or course, August saw zero precipitation, though normally, nearly half an inch falls during the month.
On June 9, Governor Steve Sisolak signed a bill legalizing cannabis consumption lounges throughout the state. The new law goes into effect on October 1, but the state Cannabis Compliance Board doesn't expect the first of 20 lounges statewide to open until sometime in the first half of 2022, since the application process has yet to be finalized, with no timeline for when that might occur. A story in today's Las Vegas Sun takes a look at some of the possibilities for the lounges. Planet 13, the largest dispensary in Las Vegas, will "likely" convert a 20,000-square-foot warehouse into the mother of all lounges as an attraction all its own, described as a "club concept." Other ideas include cannabis comedy clubs, eateries featuring pot-infused food, and undefined "first-in-the-nation-type lounges." Only cannabis bought on site will be allowed to be consumed and the Compliance Board will determine the products and quantities; guidelines will ensure employees are prepared to "spot individuals who may have consumed too much" and no alcohol will be permitted on the premises.
The monsoon returned after a few-day hiatus last night, with thunderstorms and high winds throughout the valley and rainfall of between a quarter- and half-inch, depending on location. For today through Sunday, the forecast is stormy on and off, with a flash-flood warning in effect starting at noon and running through Sunday morning.
A report prepared by local economics firm Applied Analysts for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority pegs the loss to the Las Vegas tourism industry from the pandemic at $34 billion. Applied Analysts calculated the economic impact of tourism in 2019 at $63.6 billion in 2019, which dropped to $29.6 billion in 2020. In addition, approximately 125,600 jobs were lost to the shutdown, resulting in a $3.3 billion drop in wages for hospitality workers alone, with another $2.1 billion for non-tourism-industry employees. For the year, southern Nevada's average unemployment rate was the highest among large metropolitan areas at 14.7%. "Compared to recent recessions, the COVID-19 recession’s magnitude was unprecedented in its depth and speed," the report stated.
The Lovers & Friends Festival, featuring the biggest acts in hip-hop, rap, and R&B, was originally announced for May 2020 to take place over two days in Carson, California. The pandemic took care of that and it looked like the hotly anticipated festival was history. But now comes word that the show will go on and in Las Vegas to boot. The resurrected Lovers & Friends will happen on May 14, 2022, at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. The lineup for the one-day show is mind-boggling: Usher, Lauryn Hill, Ciara, Ludacris, Ashanti, Boyz II Men, TLC, Ne-Yo, Trey Songz, Ja Rule, Brandy, Monica, Nelly, Akon, Sean Paul, T-Pain, Jodeci, Keith Sweat, Ginuwine, Jhene Aiko, Megan Thee Stallion, Saweetie, Summer Walker, and dozens more. Presale begins Monday August 2 at 10 a.m. PT. General admission starts at $175 per person, VIP tickets at $300.
Station Casinos is finally moving ahead with its plans to build (tentatively named) Durango Station, a 200-room hotel-casino on South Durango Drive near the 215 Beltway. Station has owned the 71-acre parcel since 2000 and this project has been on and off ever since, but the growth of the area, with its well-to-do population and not another casino within five miles, along with selling the Palms and record profits, have all prompted Station to move forward. The casino will be 100,000 square feet with 2,000 slot machines, 40 tables games, sports book, and four restaurants. Ground is expected to be broken in the first quarter 2022, with completion in 18-24 months. No budget has been released, but analysts expect the new property to cost in the neighborhood of $400 million.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday that 9.6% of the Las Vegas workforce remained unemployed in June, the highest percentage in the country among the largest metropolitan areas. Los Angeles was right on Vegas' heels at 9.5%, while Salt Lake City was lowest at 3.2%. They compare to the national average of 6.1% unemployed workers. Though nearly one out of 10 local employees remains out of work, it's a vast improvement over the one out of three in April 2020; however, the unemployment rate has hovered between 9% and 10% for the past eight months.
A lucky slot player hit a progressive jackpot of $627,000 while playing a Buffalo Grand machine at the D on Sunday. It's the fifth time a Buffalo Grand jackpot has been hit at the D; most recently, a player won $1.2 million in April.
Here's an update for all of you who've been asking us when Main Street Station might reopen. Boyd Gaming told investors during an earnings call yesterday, “We are in the process of making plans to potentially reopen Main Street Station." There it is, the definitive word on the subject to reassure investors. And about Eastside Cannery, Boyd said, "We would expect the same thing to happen over time."
Nevada health officials reported that statewide, there were 1,124 new coronavirus cases yesterday, the most in nearly six months (since Feb. 8). Worse, the number of people hospitalized with severe COVID symptoms jumped to 1,143 on Tuesday, nearly reaching peak hospitalizations last summer during the second surge of the virus, long before the vaccines were developed and deployed, and more than quadruple the 200 or so hospitalizations as recently as mid-June. The Nevada Hospital Association indicated that hospitalized patients are, on average, much younger than in previous surges.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has just issued a new mandate that no matter whether or not you're vaccinated, you must now wear a mask in public indoors. The governor's office cited new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control in accordance with an emergency directive Sisolak signed in May to "automatically adopt CDC guidance related to mask-wearing." The new rule goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning. The renewed mandate comes as 12 of Nevada's 17 counties are now considered having "substantial" or "high" rates of contagion from the Delta variant of the coronavirus, including Clark, Nye, and Lincoln counties in southern Nevada.
MGM Resorts has announced a requirement that employees either upload their proof of a full vaccination against COVID or submit to getting testing every week at a cost to them of $15 for each test. The dictum went out via email yesterday on the employee-message generator to the company's 35,000 workers worldwide, estimated to be down from 70,000 pre-pandemic.
According to "multiple reports," the Vegas Golden Knights have traded their 2021 Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the Chicago Blackhawks. Fleury has one season remaining on his four-year contract with the VGK at $7 million; his record with the team was 117-60-14 in 192 appearances with the Knights and posted a 2.41 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. The reports say that it was a straight trade with the Blackhawks: Fleury in exchange for a 23-year-old Finnish center with the minor-league Rockford IceHogs. Evidently, the Blackhawks believe that Fleury won't play out his remaining year in Chicago. Fleury's agent tweeted that neither he nor Fleury had heard from the VGK about the trade, but if it's true, the 36-year-old Fleury would "discuss his situation with his family and seriously evaluate his hockey future at this time."
Last year, barely a drop of rain was measured in Las Vegas during the summer monsoon season, which typically runs from early July through September. This year, finally, the monsoon arrived with a vengeance. Yesterday and Sunday, rain of up to an inch fell on various parts of the valley, with a quarter-inch measured at McCarran; the fire department extracted numerous drivers from cars stalled in feet of standing water, along with conducting several swift-water rescues. The storm generated winds up to 70 mph in some areas and
upwards of 15,000 houses lost power. The official high temperature yesterday was 89 degrees; that broke the previous lowest high temp ever recorded for the date, set in 1950, by two degrees. And if you're wondering if the storm helped the Lake Mead water situation, the answer is ... nah. Spit in the ocean.
Arizona is in a race against time to open sports betting to state residents no later than Thursday September 9, when the first National Football League game of the season is scheduled. Now that Arizona's Department of Gaming has submitted its final rules for sports betting and fantasy sports to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office, the licensing process can begin; applications are due by August 9 and licensees will be announced a week later. Only three months ago, Gov. Doug Ducey signed a new compact with the state's tribes that legalized sports betting and fantasy sports (plus allowing baccarat and craps and increasing the number of slot machines in tribal casinos).
One-hundred percent vegetarian restaurants in Las Vegas are few and far between (and generally don't last too long) and dedicated vegetarian Asian restaurants are even rarer, but one has opened at the southwest corner of Decatur and Spring Mountain, in the former Bund Shanghai space. Saffron features "a fusion of traditional East Asian cuisine and approachable Western vegetarian" with such dishes as fern-root Singapore noodles, traditional claypot rice, fried banana flowers with tamarind sauce, umami eggplant with tofu, mushroom dumplings, exotic-mushroom tempura, and vegetarian curries, with vegan cheesecake for dessert and Asian beer and sake. The 90-seat restaurant is overseen by chef Louross Edralin, a contestant on Season 4 of Hell's Kitchen who ranked in 7th place.
Lake Mead, largest reservoir in the U.S., broke its previous record-low water level of 1,071.6 feet in June and has been dropping ever since. Now Lake Powell, the nation's second largest reservoir, has broken its own record for its lowest level at 3,555.09 feet. That's a hair less than the previous record low set in April 2005 at 3,555.1 feet. Water is released from Lake Powell to raise Lake Mead, but both reservoirs are expected to keep declining into November, when demand by downstream farmers abates.
It's been a long and contentious clash between Station Casinos management and unions attempting to organize Red Rock Resort. But a U.S. District Court judge this week had harsh words for the casino company's "outrageous undermining of the fairness of elections" and "hallmark violation" in an order to bargain in good faith with Culinary Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165. Station "must post the judge's bargaining order in English and Spanish within five days, schedule meetings explaining the order in English and Spanish within two weeks, and send a sworn affidavit to the court notifying it that it has complied with terms of the injunction within three weeks."
World Wrestling Entertainment will hold its annual SummerSlam at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday August 21. on Saturday, August 21, marking the first time the annual event has been held at an NFL stadium. Considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania, this year's marks the first time SummerSlam will be held at an NFL stadium. It will also be one of the first sporting events
held at full capacity at the new stadium.
The Las Vegas Raiders, led by former running back and Hall of Famer Marcus Allen, crushed the Vegas Golden Knights, led by "misfit" (meaning he's been on the team since the beginning) Reilly Smith, in an exhibition softball game at Las Vegas Ballpark yesterday. It was the second such game in three years and the Raiders, winning by a score of 25-16, took a 2-0 lead in the series. The Raiders scored 10 runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, triggering the "mercy rule," which ended those innings for the Raiders. The sold-out game, all in good fun, raised $175,000 for several local charities, including Grant a Gift Autism Foundation and the Miracle League of Las Vegas.
Cory Sandhagen is a -230 favorite over TJ Dillashaw in tonight’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Kyler Phillips is -325 over Raulian Paiva.
Sportico.com reports that a new study from marketing agency Hot Paper Lantern found that one-third of sports bettors in the U.S. are women. "The number was higher than many industry insiders interviewed by Sportico expected," but even a couple of years ago, a 2019 study by the American Gaming Association concluded that in the previous year, 32% of sports bettors were women. Younger-generation GenZers and Millennials make up the bulk (27%-28%) of women bettors, most of whom use mobile betting apps; older women tend to bet on major sporting events like the Super Bowl, March Madness, or Kentucky Derby. According to the study, women overall don't bet sports with the frequency that men do, but given that nearly half of all sports fans are female, that's expected to increase in time.
Louisiana lawmakers have approved a deal between Caesars Entertainment and the New Orleans Saints pro football team in which Caesars will pay roughly $138 million over 20 years in exchange for the right to put its name and logo on the Superdome. The stadium is owned by the state, so the legislature had to sign off on the agreement, but all the proceeds will go to the Saints football team as part of its contract with the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District that dates back to 2009. The Saints have pledged the full amount to be invested in the nearly half-billion-dollar renovation of the 46-year-old Superdome. The Saints will be the first NFL team to play in a stadium named for a casino.
When the Fred Segal Market opens at Resorts World on Monday, it will be the first retail location in Las Vegas to deploy Amazon's Just Walk Out technology. The Market, a sundries and souvenir shop next to Fred Segal's men's store, will offer shoppers the effortless checkout that Amazon pioneered to use at its Amazon Go convenience stores and is now rolling out at its Amazon Fresh supermarkets. When customers enter the store, they pass through automated gates where they select Just Walk Out or the regular checkout process. To Just Walk Out, they can scan a QR code in the Amazon app, their palm on the Amazon One palm-reading device, or a credit/debit card linked to their Amazon account. The Just Walk Out system uses computer-vision cameras, weight sensors, and deep-learning algorithms to detect merchandise that shoppers take from or return to shelves; the items are tracked in a virtual cart. When shoppers exit the store through the gates, the system automatically debits the customers' Amazon account and sends a receipt to the app. We wonder: What could possibly go wrong? But apparently, the system has been used successfully for several years at nearly three dozen Amazon Go stores.
An LVA correspondent went to the Tropicana to take in the Jon Lovitz show on Tuesday evening, saw some temporary signs for a "Boutique Buffet," and followed them to the Havana Room, the 12,000-square-foot event space that has a capacity of 300 seated. Apparently, the Trop was in the middle of a three-day buffet experiment that started Monday with Mexican night, continued on Tuesday with Italian night, and wound up on Wednesday with barbecue night. Our guy's description: "The Italian spread was sparse, to put it generously. It consisted of Mediterranean chopped salad, pasta and sausage, ravioli, two kinds of pizza, tiramisu, and cannoli. The whole setup was on one table consisting of two Sterno-type warming trays and a couple of other serving containers, with coffee and ice tea. This pathetic offering cost $30 and soft drinks were extra. At 6 p.m., there were six diners. A half-hour later, there were three." If the number of people eating is any indication, this buffet experiment, not unlike the Trop's last two, at least, can be considered failures. Especially at the ridiculous prices. Sheesh.
An annual forecast by the University of Nevada Las Vegas' Center for Business and Economic Research projects a million more residents for Clark County by the year 2060. Last year's population of 2.38 million will mushroom to 3.38 million, a 300,000-resident increase over the 2019 prediction. Closer to home, the study projects a rise of more than a quarter-million people, 264,000 to be exact, moving here in the next four years. The study doesn't speculate on land, water, utility, traffic, pollution, homeless, crime, or other similar issues.
White Cross Drugs, which operated on Las Vegas Blvd. South near Oakey for 48 years, had a landmark diner, first named Tiffany's Cafe, then renamed Vickie's Diner after it was sold to Vickie Kelesis. Even after White Cross closed in 2012, Vickie's remained open until August of last year, when the building was sold. Now, Vickie's will reopen on July 28 in a storefront at the venerable Commercial Center at 953 E. Sahara Avenue. The new location is double the size with twice as much capacity, but the look, reportedly, will be as close to the original Vickie's as possible. So will the menu.
A story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal reveals that several properties adding up to eight acres in the shadow of the STRAT Tower have been put up for sale. The properties include some vacant lots, a commercial space currently home to two tattoo parlors, and the little Aztec Inn, with its 3,000-square-foot casino, motel units, and apartment complex on nearly an acre of the eight. The whole property is selling for $60 million, or $7.5 million per, and includes tax incentives and a non-restricted gaming license.
The Rolling Stones are considered the "greatest rock 'n' roll band of all time," at least by Bob Dylan and numerous critics and polls. Others quibble, naming the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Kiss, the Grateful Dead, and Alice Cooper (our own choice), but the fact is, no other classic-rock act has been together for anywhere near as long: Next year will be their 60th anniversary. And they're still going strong, as evidenced by the announcement of the "No Limit" tour. The 13-date tour was originally scheduled to kick off on May 8 last year, but you know what happened to that. The new dates begin September 26 in St. Louis and include a night in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium, Saturday November 6. Tickets go on sale on July 30.
A first-of-its-kind American Gaming Association survey released on Wednesday indicated that a little more than 20 million people "plan" to bet on this year's Olympics. If that sounds like a lot, consider the following. That's less than half of the 47 million the AGA found in a separate survey were going to bet on March Madness earlier this year. Also, of those 20 million, nearly half (47%) expect to bet casually with friends, while 43% will be online, 13% will be illegally with a bookie, and only 16% will place a bet on the Olympics at a retail sportsbook. (Yes, it adds up to more than 100%, but it was a multiple-choice poll.)
In the ongoing contentious cat-and-mouse game between the City of Oakland and the Oakland A's MLB team, the city keeps making concessions that the team keeps repudiating. The issues are too lengthy and complex to be discussed here, but in a long-anticipated (though non-binding) vote yesterday, the city voted to approve "an amended counter-proposal" to the one submitted by the team in April for a $12 billion waterfront stadium development, which the team rejected immediately. It appears that the team has already determined to leave Oakland no matter what. Now it's just a question of where they'll wind up. Las Vegas seems to be at the top of the list, with a fifth trip to Las Vegas by team executives planned next week to "narrow down their possible ballpark locations to seven or eight finalists."
In an emergency meeting yesterday, Clark County Commissioners imposed a mask mandate on employees who work indoors. The decision comes amidst a surge in COVID cases and hospitalizations due to the highly contagious Delta variant; Nevada registered more than 1,000 new positives yesterday for the first time since January, with nearly 90% of them in the southern state. Hospitalizations increased by 10% yesterday. The mask mandate goes into effect tonight at 12:01 a.m. and will be reconsidered on August 17.
The Milwaukee Bucks are -4.5 favorites over the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the NBA Championship series. The total is 220.
A longtime Las Vegas venue for live music and craft cocktails, the Sand Dollar Lounge will open a second location at the Plaza, bringing a late-night live music downtown. The Sand Dollar Blues Bar opened in 1976 on Spring Mountain Road at Polaris (right around the corner from the Huntington Press office), and quickly became one of the top blues bars in the country. It closed in 2007, reopening a couple of years later as the Sand Dollar Lounge. Sand Dollar Downtown will occupy 5,000 square feet next to the casino, with live music Thursdays through Saturdays, a full menu of craft cocktails, and pizza by Pop Up Pizza. The opening date hasn't been announced, but it's expected to be sometime this fall.
The Nevada Craft Brewer’s Association has announced its first beer festival since the shutdown last year. The Nevada Beer Bash is scheduled for August 21 from 6 to 10 p.m. in the Front Yard at Ellis Island. Nearly two dozen breweries from around the state will be serving their craft beers, including Ellis Island, Big Dog's, and Able Baker Brewing from Las Vegas and Reno's Great Basin Brewing Company. General admission tickets on sale for $50 are good for three hours of unlimited tastings; $80 VIP tickets provide an hour of early tastings, five food pairings, and merch. Purchase tickets here.
Jeff Bezos' historic flight into space this morning was aired on the nearly 20,000-square-foot billboard at the corner of Harmon Avenue and the Strip. The launch, reentry, and landing portions of the 11-minute flight by billionaire founder of Amazon, along with his brother and an 18-year-old young man and 82-year-old trailblazing woman aviator (the youngest and oldest people ever to leave Earth's atmosphere), was broadcast on Branded Cities' digital marquees in Las Vegas, New York, and Toronto.
According to a report in the Review-Journal, a 2.6-acre 43-townhome complex on Charleston Boulevard less than a mile west of Red Rock Resort sold all of its units within 90 days of going on the market and at least a month before ground is scheduled to be broken on the project. The three-story townhomes range from $440,000 to $550,000 and won't be completed until the first quarter of 2023, more than a year and a half from now. Upwards of half the units are cash sales to Californians.
Sports betting in South Dakota is driving toward the end zone, as the South Dakota Commission on Gaming has passed the final regulations, which now go to the state legislature for approval; that's scheduled to happen on August 2. The Commission is scheduled to approve the first wave of operators at its meeting on September 8, just in time to open retail sports betting the next day, when the first game of the new NFL season is played. Sports betting in South Dakota will be limited to Deadwood, as passed by voters last November. Next door, Wyoming regulators have posted applications for operators of online sports betting, as passed by voters in early April. Like South Dakota, the Wyoming Gaming Commission is trying to launch sports betting in conjunction with the start of the football season.
Two-year Las Vegas resident Collin Morikawa won the British Open major golf tournament yesterday. It was his second major championship in 11 months; he also won the PGA Championship in early August 2020. At age 24, he's the youngest pro golfer to win two majors in only eight starts since Bobby Jones accomplished the same feat in 1926. He's also the eighth golfer in history to win more than one major before turning 25. He began his PGA Tour career with 22 consecutive made cuts, second only to Tiger Woods with 25. In addition, in 15 British Opens at the Royal St. George’s course in Kent, no one has ever shot a total of 15 under par at 265 across 72 holes. Morikawa is described as mature way beyond his years, as unflappable as he is humble, and super-prepared for every match. His girlfriend Katherine Zhu is also a golfer, having played collegiately.
Bronx Wanderers, recently cut by Caesars Entertainment from the Harrah's Showroom, has found a new home at the Westgate. The hard-rocking Adinolfi-family trio (Dad and two sons) will perform their show, which we reviewed and really liked, starting Monday September 20 at 8 p.m. and continue Monday-Thursdays at 8 and Friday-Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for $49.99 plus taxes and fees.
According to Eater Las Vegas, 60 Las Vegas-area food-and-beverage companies received more than $1 million in loans from the Small Business Administration's Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The program opened on May 3 and closed on June 30 when it had distributed its total allotment of funds, with only 763 (30%) of the nearly 2,500 applications from Nevada establishments approved. The biggest recipients ($5 million) were Pampas Churrascaria at the Miracle Mile Shops, Cabo Wabo Cantina also at the Miracle Mile Shops, Hexx Kitchen at Paris (no update on whether Hexx is still charging CNF fees), and Chateau Nightclub at Paris. Fifty-six other establishments received $1 million or more. A few that caught our eye were Golden Corral ($4.8 million), Peppermill ($4.6 million), Lotus of Siam ($4.1 million), Heart Attack Grill ($1.2 million), and Smoked Burgers and BBQ at Caesars ($1.1 million, which hasn't reopened since the shutdown).
Scott Roeben's VitalVegas.com blog pointed us to the announcement on the Marriott website that claims the Fontainebleau will open in the 4th quarter of 2023 and be called JW Marriott Las Vegas Boulevard. The brief blurb focuses on the hotel, which will feature more than 3,700 rooms and suites, a half-million square feet of meeting and convention space, and the debut of Marriott International’s Edition brand, another high-end hotel-within-a-hotel on the higher floors like the NoMad at Park MGM and the 1,500-room Crockfords at Resorts World, though Edition will boast 900-plus rooms, nearly double the 293-room NoMad and 230-room Crockfords combined. The announcement also lists multiple retail, spa, nightlife, pool, casino, and culinary experiences, in that order, so we're assuming that the casino will have Marriott in its name. Koch Real Estate Investments picked up the property early this year for $350 million, less than four years after it sold to Witkoff Group for $600 million. With Resorts World bringing droves of visitors to the north Strip, the West Hall of the Convention Center open and operating, the skeleton of a pedestrian skybridge from the building to the Convention Center, along with the very deep pockets of Koch and what looks like a deal with Marriott, it all adds up to the real possibility that the unfinished Fontainebleau saga could be coming to an end -- after 15 years.
Going into tomorrow's final round of golf's Open Championship (British Open) Louis Oosthuizen is the +125 favorite. He’s followed by Collin Morikawa at +200 and Jordan Spieth at +550. The round begins early tomorrow morning.
Islam Makhachev is a -750 favorite over Thiago Moises in tonight’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Miesha Tate is -180 over Marion Reneau.
The Phoenix Suns are -4 favorites over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the NBA Championship series. The total is 220.
According to a White House COVID team's list of "Select High-Burden Core-Based Statistical Areas," Las Vegas ranks number one as the as the country's worst metro area with more than one million people for transmission of the coronavirus. It's followed by Jacksonville, Miami, and Orlando, with Tampa ranked at number 9, and San Antonio (#5), Phoenix (#6), Kansas City (#7), St. Louis (#9), and New Orleans rounding out the top ten. Friday's report is based on test cases from July 6-12 and 8-14, plus deaths from the latter week; the numbers have gone up significantly since then. Masks are now recommended, though not mandated, for everyone in Las Vegas and several casinos, including the Venetian and Westgate, are now requiring all employees to wear masks again.
As of September 2, the Sands Expo & Convention Center, the fifth-largest private convention facility in the country at 2-1/4-million square feet, will be known as the Venetian Expo. No reason was given for the name change, but it's surely in conjunction with a rebranding due to Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s selling off the entire Venetian/Palazzo/Expo property by the end of the year.
Nevada reported 938 new coronavirus cases yesterday. That was the highest single-day count since the last surge in January. The vast majority of them, of course, were recorded in Clark County, which had 180 new cases per 100,000 people in the past week, nearly all of them in unvaccinated residents. The average has been climbing steadily since it reached a low of 133 on June 10. By comparison, L.A. County registered 68 new cases per 100,000; L.A.'s top health official is recommending non-vaccinated people avoid Las Vegas, which has been labeled as a “sustained hotspot” for COVID-19 by the federal government. L.A. County is requiring that everyone wear masks indoors beginning tomorrow.
We still have some comp tickets left for today’s Alain Nu show at Alexis Park. Anthony Curtis will be there to verify Nu’s attempt to bend 100+ spoons. If you’d like tickets, call 702-252-0655 and ask for Paula. The show is at 5 p.m.
FlyOver Las Vegas, the new flight-ride motion simulator scheduled to open this fall, is getting a lot of coverage. The latest news release describes the “The Real Wild West” as "a multi-sensory journey taking guests over the American West’s most iconic locations and natural wonders as part of this cutting-edge entertainment experience," in destinations within Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Montana, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. The high-def footage is shot from helicopters and presented on a 53-foot spherical screen with a motion simulator that enables riders to feel "every sweeping movement of the adventure." Special effects include wind, mist, and location-specific scents. FlyOver will be located on the Las Vegas Strip next to the Hard Rock Cafe. To see the 57-second trailer, click here.
The new three-plane Burbank-based ultra-low-cost airline, Avelo, which launched service to Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma Airport in April, has announced direct flights between Sonoma and Las Vegas starting on September 16. Avelo will make one round-trip daily on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday; one-way fares start at $39, with all the add-ons (checked and carry-on luggage, assigned seats, etc.) extra.
Work is expected to begin this fall on a new downtown entertainment venue called the Beverly Theater. The smallish two-story 14,000-foot building located on the corner of Sixth St. and Bonneville Ave. will host “independent film, live music, arts performances, literary experiences, and educational programming” and is expected to open in 2022.
The six-year-old ultra-high-end Italian seafood restaurant Costa Di Mare is closing on Sunday. In a tweet, author of Eating Las Vegas John Curtas says it will be replaced by a Gucci store.
John Rahm is the +700 favorite to win the Open Championship golf tournament (British Open). He’s followed by Bryson DeChambeau at +1400 and Dustin Johnson at +1500.
The statewide ban on surge pricing by rideshare companies imposed early in the pandemic to prevent price gouging was rescinded just before Memorial Day weekend and, along with various driver incentives, many more Uber and Lyft vehicles have been servicing Las Vegas ever since. However, they still can't keep up with demand and over the second busy weekend in a row, rideshare prices were equal to and in some reported cases even higher than taxi fares. And that's if you could get a ride; one Uber driver told a local TV station that people were waving $100 bills in his face for short "off-the-meter" rides. In fact, some hired limos and party buses for their transportation to and from Allegiant Stadium for the sold-out Garth Brooks concert, because they were cheaper than Uber and parking fees. Keep the ongoing transportation situation in mind if you're coming in on busy weekends. And all weekends these days are busy.
The Milwaukee Bucks are -4.5 favorites over the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of the NBA Championship series. The total is 221.
Lost Spirits, a famous boutique distillery of whiskey and rum with a second-generation "highly thematic" distillery and tour in downtown Los Angeles' Arts District, is opening a Las Vegas location next month. The L.A. tour combines distillery manufacturing with elements of immersive theater and amusement parks and according to Forbes, the Las Vegas experience will be "much bigger and grander, taking the original vision of a blend of distillery and an adventurous tour to another dimension." The Forbes reporter got a sneak preview and writes, "Lost Spirits Vegas is a whole new world — one of holograms, music, hidden speakeasy rooms, submarines, chauffeur-driven buggies, fish with human faces. In the course of 90-plus minutes, you're transported to Havana, to the Great Gatsby era, underwater. In short, you're taken into fantastical new worlds." And if you're wondering where the Lost Spirits tour will be when it opens on August 15, you probably haven't been keeping up on Las Vegas' cutting-edge arts scene. So we'll tell you: Area15.
We’ve secured 20 comp tickets for Friday’s Alain Nu show at Alexis Park, at which Anthony Curtis will make an appearance to verify Nu’s attempt to bend 100+ spoons. Because of the short notice, we’re not doing anything special to give away the tickets; we’ll simply hand them over to the first 20 takers. All that’s necessary is that you’re in town and able to show up at Alexis Park between 4:30 and 5 p.m. this Friday, July 16. If you’d like tickets (4 max), call 800-244-2224 and ask for Paula. We’ll need your name, phone number, and email to put you on the comp list. You can also email [email protected].
For the third night in a row, thunderstorms and downpours were recorded around Las Vegas Valley as the weather pattern carried in by summer monsoons provided some relief from persistent hot dry conditions. The dark clouds, lightning, thunder, and rainstorms are a welcome change from last year, when no measurable precipitation was recorded here through the entire monsoon season. We have a report of a brief power outage downtown that knocked out slot machines at Four Queens into the wee hours.
The American League and National League are pick ’em in tonight's Major League Baseball All-Star game. The run line is 11.
On July 16, Alain Nu, star of Alain Nu—The Man Who Knows, will “attempt to mysteriously bend 100+ spoons and he’s recruited Anthony Curtis to verify the count. The show is at Alexis Park (5 p.m.) and we’ve made a deal for a $20 discount on tickets if you’re interested in attending and hanging out with A.C. and some of the LVA staff after the show.
Today's Question of the Day, "Which Las Vegas casino has the most slot and video poker machines?" is a departure from the norm. Rather than providing the answer, it asks for readers' guesses as to which it is. So far, there are more than 50 guesses and not only have a few hit on the correct answer, but a several of them are definitely on the right track. Add your guess in a comment box by clicking here.
Sheldon Adelson, late chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, opposed internet gambling to the tune of tens of millions of dollars spent on anti-igaming campaigns; he also had so much influence on the Trump administration that the Department of Justice issued an opinion that nearly killed off online gambling for good. Now, only six months after Adelson's death, it appears that Las Vegas Sands is going into the igaming and online sports betting business. In a recent statement, Sands announced that it's dipping its toes in these deep waters via a "strategic investment" that, analysts believe, positions the company to create a new platform for igaming by making "a series of smaller bets in younger companies and building something new from that foundation, versus trying to accomplish their goals with a single splashy acquisition.” If it's true, Sands will be somewhat behind the curve, but with its huge warchest, it could become a major player in this crowded field and more power to them. Competition is good.
Criss Angel, the star of MINDFREAK at Planet Hollywood (which reopened last week), is launching a restaurant in Overton, a small town about 60 miles north of Las Vegas near the northern end of Lake Mead. Cablp — Criss Angel’s Breakfast, Lunch & Pizza (yes, that spelling is correct; the neologism is pronounced Ca-blip) will also convert into “The Magic Room,” featuring entertainment from Angel and others in the magic community. Angel, who became familiar with the area while dirt-bike riding with his family, bought the former Sugar’s Home Plate restaurant; Cablp will be run by Angel's brother, who has operated the family's restaurants for years, and a New Jersey pizza maker. Cablp will open sometime in the next few weeks.
The long-term and disruptive upgrade of Las Vegas Blvd. South is beginning a new phase today. Except for work at the intersection of Spring Mountain Road and the Strip, the previous phase, between Sahara and Spring Mountain, is wrapping up, while the new phase, between the 215 Beltway and Russell Road, begins and will continue for roughly 16 months. Initially, the southbound Boulevard will narrow down to one lane from Mandalay Bay to Russell between 2 and 10 a.m. for six weeks, then continue south into early next year, when construction will cross over to the northbound lanes. This phase of the overall project, which includes "water-line replacement, new pavement, intersection modifications to upgrade pedestrian crossings, enhancements to traffic-signal and street-lighting systems with smart poles and enhanced median landscaping with LED lighting, is costing $40 million.
The long-lived boy band Backstreet Boys will return to Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood for 12 “A Very Backstreet Christmas Party” shows between November 11 and December 23. BBS, as they're commonly known, was formed in the mid-1990s when all the members were in their teens; they're all now in their 40s, but are still going strong and are as popular as ever. This will be their second Vegas residency, after “Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life” played Planet Hollywood from 2017 to 2018. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday and start at $89.
The Phoenix Suns are -4.5 favorites over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of the NBA Championship series. The total is 219.5.
If the name Heather Tallchief means anything to you, you've been around the Las Vegas crime scene for a long time. In October 1993, Tallchief was a young break-in driver for Loomis, the armored car company, when she drove off in an armored car with around $3 million and got away with the money with the help of her accomplice, mentor, and lover Robert Solis. After 12 years on the lam, Tallchief turned herself in, served 63 months, and paid a certain amount of restitution, then faded into the woodwork. Now, Netflix has resurrected her story for the first two episodes of a new documentary, "Heist," a true-crime series in which "ordinary people almost get away with extraordinary heists." It debuts with the first Tallchief episode on Wednesday.
England is a -135 favorite over Italy in today's Euro Championship soccer final. The goal line is 2.
The thermometer hit 117 degrees at McCarran yesterday just after 5 p.m. to tie the all-time record; it was the fifth time since 1937 when temperature records began being kept that the city saw 117. The others were on June 20, 2017; June 30, 2013; July 19, 2005; and July 24, 1942. The 117 set a new daily record for the fourth day in a row, beating the previous high of 116 set in 1959. The low temperature at McCarran dropped all the way down to 94 at 4:30 a.m., one degree lower than the all-time highest low of 95 recorded on July 1, 2013. The forecast for today is projected to hit 116 and tomorrow 113; then temperatures will return to the normal range below 110.
Novak Djokovic is a -550 favorite over Matteo Berrettini in tomorrow’s Wimbledon men's tennis final. Djokovic is seeking his 6th Wimbledon title and 20th Grand Slam championship, which would tie him for the all-time lead. Berrettini is in his first Grand Slam final. The match starts early, at 3 a.m. EST.
Dustin Poirier is a -140 favorite over Conor McGregor in today’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Stephen Thompson is -165 over Gilbert Burns.
A Las Vegas-based startup company called Halo, in a partnership with T-Mobile, is launching a remote-controlled car service here. The electric cars are driven remotely by an operator using 5G technology. A customer calls for a car via an app and the remote operator drives the car to the customer; when it arrives, the customer takes over the car and drives it, manually, to his or her destination. When the trip is completed, the remote operator takes back control of the car and remotely drives it to the next customer. Halo will start with five vehicles, which will go into operation later this year.
The city is sizzling this weekend with more than just high temperatures. The crowds, from what we've seen so far, are as heavy as last weekend (July 4th). Hundreds of thousands are in town for the UFC match at T-Mobile between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, Garth Brooks at Allegiant Stadium, Bruno Mars at Park MGM, and Dave Chappelle at MGM Grand Garden Arena -- all within a short distance of the Strip and Tropicana Avenue. If you're going anywhere in the vicinity this evening, add an hour to travel time and get ready to pay through the nose for parking. And that's just the special events; tens of thousands more will be here for the regularly scheduled shows, gambling, day and nightclubs, hooking up, and wandering around in a sweaty daze. One event that won't take place due to the heat is Midnight Mayhem at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The two-decades-old event attracts local amateur racers in a quest to reduce illegal street racing at night.
Yesterday for the second day in a row, Las Vegas broke a daily high-temperature record when 116 degrees was recorded at McCarran just before 5 p.m. It crushed the old record for the day, set in 2012, by three degrees. Today, the National Weather Service has indicated that the all-time high-temperature record for any day could fall -- or rise, literally. If it even gets close to the 118 degrees that would break the record, it'll set a new daily record for the third day running; the old record of 114 was also set in 2012. Tomorrow's high is predicted to reach 116, which would tie the record high set in 1959.
Ashleigh Barty is a -250 favorite over Karolina Pliskova in tomorrow's Wimbledon women's tennis final. Barty is seeking her second Grand Slam title and Pliskova her first. The match starts early, at 3 a.m. EST.
After being on display since 1997, the famous bronze statue of the Crazy Girls’ derrières that graced the front of the Riviera, then Planet Hollywood’s Sin City Showroom, has been put out to pasture. The statue was removed after Crazy Girls became a victim of Caesars’ closing of several smaller showrooms last month. It’s not known if the show, or the statue, will get a new home. Crazy Girls has performed since 1987. The butts are said to have been rubbed by more than a million visitors. Maybe they were hoping to get lucky.
The National Weather Service registered a high temperature yesterday of 114 degrees at the official reading station at McCarran Airport (soon to be Harry Reid International), which set a record for the high temperature on July 8, eclipsing the old record set in 2017 by one degree. The region's all-time high record of 117, reached four times since 1937 when records began being kept, could fall tomorrow, with the forecast calling for 118 degrees.
The Phoenix Suns are -5 favorites over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of the NBA Championship series. The total is 221.
The East-West Shrine Bowl, the longest-running college football all-star game in the country (97 years), will be played on Feb. 3, 2022, at Allegiant Stadium as part of NFL Pro Bowl week. The Thursday evening event will bring approximately 125 of the nation’s top college seniors to be coached by NFL staffs for a week of preparation in front of hundreds of NFL scouts, agents, and media, all leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft, which will also be held in Las Vegas (April 28-30, 2022). Thousands of East-West Shrine Bowl all-stars have gone to play in the NFL, including 500 Pro Bowl appearances and 78 Hall of Famers. This bowl game, which supports Shriners Hospitals for Children, has been played in St. Petersburg, Florida, for the past 10 years; it will be televised nationally on the NFL Network.
A report by Fitch Ratings Service has bestowed another dubious distinction on the Las Vegas metropolitan area: the most overvalued houses in the nation. In the first quarter of this year, the price of houses in the area were approximately 33% higher than they should be, as measured by Fitch's metrics for "sustainable" home prices. By the same standards, Las Vegas housing prices were overvalued by 25%-29% in the fourth quarter of last year. Las Vegas was followed by Dallas, Phoenix, San Diego, and Tampa for the top five most overvalued home prices.
We've certainly been hearing about Here Kitty Kitty Vice Den, the "secret" bar that all new Las Vegas casinos have these days, but we haven't had a chance to track it down. Fortuitously, the staff at ThePointsGuy.com, a travel website that started out as a points-and-miles blog and has grown into a "lifestyle media brand," checked out Resorts World and popped up a post about Here Kitty Kitty Vice Den yesterday. Photos show you where and how to get in, what the bar looks like, and how a few of the cocktails are served (though no prices; we'll check those out ourselves soon). For an easy peek at the speakeasy, here's your link.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are -250 favorites over the Montreal Canadiens in tonight's Game 5 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals. The goal line is 5. Tampa Bay leads the series 3-1 and can win the Cup with a victory tonight.
Brightline Holdings, owner of Brightline West, has closed on real estate on Las Vegas Blvd. South between Warm Springs and Blue Diamond for the Las Vegas terminal of its high-speed electric train from southern California. Brightline paid $140 million for the 110 acres, large enough for a planned 65,000-square-foot terminal and ample parking. Both Brightline's bond sales, one in California for $600 million, the other in Nevada for $200 million, failed last year; financing for the $2 billion 200-mph rail line remains up in the air. But the company now owns an expensive piece of property close to the airport, Strip, and Allegiant Stadium.
England is a -290 favorite over Denmark to advance in the Euro Championship semi-final soccer match. The goal line is 2.
The latest numbers from local real estate trade association, Las Vegas Realtors, indicate that the median price of a single-family house here hit $395,000 in June. That was $10,000 more (2.6%) than the record set in May and on a pace for another 20-plus-percent increase for the year; June's price was 21.5% higher than in June 2020. And they're going faster than ever: Nearly nine out of 10 houses that sold in June were on the market for 30 days or less, up from 65% in January.
The Phoenix Suns are -5 favorites over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the NBA Championship series. The total is 219.5.
Italy is a -130 favorite over Spain to advance in today's Euro Championship semi-final soccer match. The goal line is 2.
With more than 300,000 people here over the long weekend, someone was bound to hit a big one. Slot player Graciela P., from northwest L.A. County, was playing a Buffalo Grand progressive around 8 p.m. last night (no doubt killing time before hitting the road late to try to avoid the massive traffic jam back to southern California) when she hit the jackpot for $1,390,165.06 at the Sahara.
One of Las Vegas' most crowded weekends ever resulted in one of the longest and slowest traffic jams going back to southern California ever. The snarl began early; at 9 a.m., according to the Nevada Highway Patrol, it took nearly two hours to go the 40 miles between Las Vegas and Primm, normally a 35-minute drive. The backup lasted all day; at 6:30 p.m., traffic was moving at 10 miles an hour for a 15-mile stretch approaching the state line. Troopers were out in force citing numerous drivers skirting traffic via the right shoulder.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are -160 favorites over the Montreal Canadiens in tonight's Game 4 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals. The goal line is 5. Tampa Bay leads the series 3-0 and can win the Cup with a victory tonight.
For the 14th time, eating-contest champion Joey Chestnut won the Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest yesterday in New York, consuming 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes. He beat the second-place finisher by 26 dogs. A Las Vegan eating competitor, Derek Hendrickson, fulfilled a lifelong dream of participating in the contest; he finished 25-1/2 dogs. Michelle Lesco from Tucson, ranked 9th overall, won the women's contest by eating 30-3/4 hot dogs. The seven-time defending womens champion, Miko Sudo, didn't compete this year, being pregnant.
The Department of Justice has decided not to appeal an appellate court ruling that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting. While not repealing the Act completely, it’s possibly the next best thing, almost ensuring that there will be no related barriers to the expansion of non-sports-betting forms of online gambling, including lottery, casino, and poker. The move is expected to open the path for more state compacts to share customers and is considered especially beneficial for the growth prospects of online poker, with an agreement between Michigan and Pennsylvania a near-term possibility.
The Phoenix Suns are -190 favorites over the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Championship. Game 1 is Tuesday in Phoenix.
In a special contribution to today's Las Vegas Review-Journal, John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, writes, "Last year, southern Nevada used 23 percent less Colorado River water than we did in 2002, even while adding nearly 800,000 new residents and maintaining a robust economy. Water use on a per-person basis has dropped by 47% since 2002 [when the current drought began] -- a remarkable achievement not duplicated by any other community in the west." He concludes that the local water supply will be cut by 21,000 acre-feet next year, enough to serve about 45,000 households for a year, but with continued conservation measures and implementation of the Authority's 50-year water resources plan that takes into account extended Colorado River shortages, the Las Vegas area can continue to be one of "the most water-efficient communities in the nation."
Joey Chestnut is the -3300 favorite to win today's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. The over/under for dogs downed is 73.5. Chestnut is seeking his 14th title. In the women’s competition, Michelle Lesco is the -835 favorite.
The fireworks, the crowds, and the general mood this weekend are more like New Year's Eve than Independence Day -- and that's a good thing. A visitor count rivaling those of July 4, 2018 and 2019, upwards of 330,000, is expected and major fireworks displays will launch from Red Rock Resort and Green Valley Ranch at 9 p.m., the Plaza at 10 p.m., and seven Strip hotels -- Aria, Planet Hollywood, Caesars, Treasure Island, the Venetian, Resorts World, and the Strat -- at 11 p.m. For all the details of the July 4, 2021, visit our coverage in a post on Vegas With An Edge.
Though it opened unofficially in late April, the beloved Pinball Hall of Fame held the official grand opening of its new location and custom 25,000-square-foot building on Thursday, with Clark County naming July 1 "Pinball Hall of Fame Day." It's located at 4925 Las Vegas Blvd. South, a stone's throw south of the Welcome sign. You can't miss it and when you see it, you'll know why. It's open 11 a.m to 11 p.m. daily; admission is free, but bring a lot of quarters.
Slater’s 50/50 is a beer-and-burger sports bar with a dozen or locations around the west, including the one in Las Vegas that opened in 2018 on Silverado Ranch Blvd. a couple miles east of South Point. The 50/50 refers to the half ground beef and half bacon (made from ground hickory-smoked center-cut pork belly) that, combined, make up the burgers. We reviewed it in the May 2019 LVA and liked it, but we won't be trying Slater's $100 Whale Burger. It’s a pound of wagyu beef, a fried lobster tail, “gold-dusted” bacon strips, truffle cheese, arugula, bacon jam, and roasted garlic aioli on a “gold-dusted” brioche bun served with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut Champagne. If you do, let us know how you liked it -- especially the gold-dusting.
After approval by the Douglas County Commission on Thursday, Montbleu Resort Casino & Spa at Stateline, Nevada, will be renamed Bally's Lake Tahoe. Bally's Corp. (when it was known as Twin Rivers) bought Montbleu last year, along with Eldorado Shreveport in Louisiana, for $155 million. As part of its Bally's rebranding campaign (after buying the name from Caesars Entertainment for $25 million), Montbleu will become the second Bally's in Nevada; Bally's Las Vegas is still owned by Caesars.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are -125 favorites over the Montreal Canadiens in tonight's Game 3 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals. The goal line is 5.
The Plaza Hotel & Casino turns 50 today; it debuted on July 2, 1971, as the Union Plaza. It opened with a 500-room hotel that towered above the Union Pacific railroad depot and tracks. The Plaza occupies the site of the railroad's land auction in 1905 that founded Las Vegas; it also inaugurated the first race and sports book in a casino, which opened in 1975. A second tower doubled the number of rooms in 1983. Jackie Gaughan bought it in 1990 and dropped the Union from the name. Gaughan sold it to Barrick Gaming in 2005; it was subsequently taken over by Tamares Group, which still owns it. The Plaza is hosting fireworks tonight through Sunday and putting on special anniversary promotions through the end of the year.
MGM Resorts International has announced that it's buying out its partner in CityCenter, Infinity World, a division of the global holding company Dubai World. MGM is picking up full ownership of CityCenter (other than Crystals Mall, which it sold for $1.1 billion in 2016, and a two-acre parcel where the failed Harmon Hotel once stood for $80 million); it's paying Infinity World $2.1 billion, including some assumption of debt. If that seems like a relative bargain, considering CitytCenter cost more than $9 billion to complete, MGM said that the transaction “represents an implied valuation of $5.8 billion based on net debt of $1.5 billion, after giving effect to the recently closed sale of a two-acre parcel.” MGM also quickly indicated that it plans to sell Aria and Vdara to investment management company Blackstone Group for $3.9 billion in a pure cash transaction. As usual in these deals, Blackstone will lease back Aria and Vdara to MGM, which will pay $215 million in annual rent. Blackstone already owns and leases back MGM Grand, Bellagio, and Mandalay Bay; it also owns -- and actually operates, with its own management team -- the Cosmopolitan. The sale is expected to close by the end of the year.
If you're driving in for the long weekend, bring your high-limit credit cards. The price of a gallon of gasoline in southern Nevada now averages $3.73, having jumped 10 cents in the past month, and according to AAA, it'll be higher by the time you read this. That compares to an average $3.12 nationwide, 92 cents higher than at this time last year and the highest since 2014. AAA also reports that Nevada has the fourth highest gasoline prices in the U.S., behind Washington ($3.76), Hawaii ($4.01), and California ($4.28). On second thought, if you're driving in from California, our price might feel like a bargain.
Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control identified Nevada as having the nation's highest rate of new COVID cases per 100,000 people. The rise in new positives has been ongoing for several weeks and the positivity rate is nearing 6%, after a low of 3.3% in early June. The news arrives just ahead of what's expected to be Las Vegas' largest Fourth of July weekend in recent memory; more than 300,000 visitors are expected for the long weekend and tens of thousands of them will gather at Allegiant Stadium for the venue's first-ever concert (EDM star Illenium). According to the CDC, unvaccinated people have accounted for 95% of hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 over the past three months. Despite the rising cases, the Review-Journal quotes a Southern Nevada Health District officer, "There is no discussion about increasing restrictions to business and social life in Clark County.”
The poker room at Planet Hollywood will close again on Sunday July 11, this time it looks like for good. The mid-size 11-table room reopened in mid-October following the shutdown, but operated only Thursday to Sunday noon to 4 a.m. Of the 31 poker rooms in Vegas before the shutdown, PH's was the 20th to reopen, but the closing follows a decade-long trend in which poker tables at casinos are becoming an endangered species. A bit of good news for poker players: Resorts World has a fairly sizable room that more than makes up for the loss of the PH games.
As you might expect, we've been receiving a lot of questions about Resorts World. Though in the early returns, locals seem less enthusiastic than visitors about the new kind on the block, a lot of new, different, and noteworthy things impressed us about the place. One of them is Resorts World's use of technology, especially wireless, cell phone, and video applications. For a graphic look at some of what we found, check out our "Resorts World -- Tech Rules" blog post on Vegas With An Edge.